1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle reading/courtesy lamp of the type mounted on the interior of a vehicle for the convenience of occupants.
2. Prior Art
It is common practice to provide interior lighting within vehicles to facilitate people getting in and out, finding or handling articles within the vehicle, and reading such things as maps and addresses. One problem associated with lamps which have been provided in the past has been finding the switch actuating lever in the dark. Such levers are relatively small and must be found by feeling around the lamp structure.
In accordance with the present invention, such a lamp is provided having a rotatable switch actuating ring therearound. It is only necessary for an occupant of the vehicle to locate the lamp fixture and then grasp the outside periphery of the lamp (where the ring is located) and turn the ring to switch the lamp on.
The ring itself has a pair of spaced apart interior arms each of which is located on one side of a switch actuating lever, the lamp switch being located interiorly of the structure. Rotation of the ring in one direction will cause one of the arms to contact the switch actuating lever and move it to one position while turning of the ring in the opposite direction will cause the other of the arms to contact the switch actuating lever and move it to a second position, thus permitting switching of the lamp on and off by simple manipulation of the ring. This general technique, that is providing an arm on each side of switch lever with the arms being movable by means of a knob or the like to cause switch actuation, has been suggested in the past. For example, the broad use of such structure has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,449,213, Fredrick, Sept. 14, 1948; 3,075,396, Smith, Jan. 29, 1963; 3,356,819, Zavertnik et al, Dec. 5, 1967; and 3,373,621, Mundshenk, Mar. 19, 1968.
However, in accordance with the present invention, such structure is not only used for the purpose of switching an electrical apparatus on and off, it is also used as a stop means for the ring to limit ring movement to a prescribed arc. This facilitates use of peripherally spaced apart projections on the interior of the ring and similar spaced apart projections on the exterior of the lamp body as a means for assembling these two elements in operative relationship. The projections and spaces are first placed in registry whereupon the ring is mountable on the lamp body. The two elements are subsequently rotated through an arc which causes the projections to overlap each other and thereby prevent separation of the elements. The limited movement permitted by the switch actuating lever of the ring with respect to the lamp body prevents re-registry of the projections and spaces thereby preventing separation of the elements.